Help, I am very conflicted about turning peer into nursing board

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I have a floor nurse that administered medication to a patient after the order was dc'd, he failed to draw stat labs, and this patient ended up at the hospital with renal failure and anemia. That same nurse also initialed that he gave a procrit injection as a one time order, but the pharmacy never sent out the medication because it requires admin approval. These 2 instances where written up and given to the DON and the administrator. The MD was very upset and the administrator said this employee would be fired however he is still working and the write ups havent been issued to him. These write ups would have been his dismissal becuase he has already had so many and was given his final last week. I am torn. I feel like since our admininstration isnt doing anything about the unsafe care this nurse has a history of that I should report it to our local nursing board. I know everyone makes mistakes, however this is his trend and it puts our patients at risk. Please give me your thoughts.

Specializes in LTC/SNF, Geriatric, Psych, Med/Surg.
The OP wrote that she is the MDS coordinator for her facility. Her JOB is to identify and follow up on discrepancies and errors. Thank goodness that she found this error and is being an advocate for patients in her facility.

I would hope that nurses don't turn a blind eye to something as appalling as the scenario described by the OP.

It is one thing to address a nurse who takes a longer break than they should, coming to work late and subsequently receiving report late, or not following up on tasks (which I would gladly let administration follow up on), but a completely different proposition when the negligent acts of a nurse cause potential harm to a patient.

Clearly, this nurse is unsafe.

thank you... I am feeling like I am having to defend myself here...

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I am always suspicious of crusaders, who feel the need to right the worlds wrongs, and administer punishment to the guilty.

Some parts of the OPs post sound like a witch hunt. The OP deliberately looked for the errors by this nurse. The OP made COPIES. :eek: I have been the crusader. A time in my career that I seriously regret. I have been the victim of a crusader. I consider that Karma.

There are always two sides to a story and we have heard one.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I've worked in union buildings....if you didn't have everything copied and investigated before you wrote the person up, the union would grieve it. I see nothing wrong with the MDS coordinator, who has every reason for looking at the charts, copying pertinent information. You can make a complaint to the BON. They will most likely ask for supporting documentation. Good for you for not looking the other way.

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Specializes in Hospice, Geri, Psych and SA,.

Do whatever it is you feel that you have to do.

However, frankly I would be either talking to him directly or following up with administration before going to the BON. It's easy to say you're advocating for your patients when you're making a complaint under anonymity with the board but perhaps confronting him on his behavior point blank would be appropriate as well. Then again maybe you've already done everything you can think of to improve the situation, in which case do what you feel you must do.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Geriatric, Psych, Med/Surg.
I am always suspicious of crusaders, who feel the need to right the worlds wrongs, and administer punishment to the guilty.

Some parts of the OPs post sound like a witch hunt. The OP deliberately looked for the errors by this nurse. The OP made COPIES. :eek: I have been the crusader. A time in my career that I seriously regret. I have been the victim of a crusader. I consider that Karma.

There are always two sides to a story and we have heard one.

really??? Im really sorry you feel that way. It is no witch hunt. Yes, I made copies to go along with the write ups/ med errors I wrote up. I had to follow up on the stat labs that were to be drawn.... it IS part of my job. I go thru all of this physicians labs every morning and alert him to things that need immediate attention. A HGB of 8.6 is a little bit of a concern. You can feel anyway youd like, but I am in no way a crusader. I am a nurse. I am not out for anything, I could care less. I just dont want my patients having to go back to the hospital because of poor nursing care.

You can have your opinion, but I will be able to sleep at night knowing that I did right by the patients in the facitily in which I work.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.
really??? Im really sorry you feel that way. It is no witch hunt. Yes, I made copies to go along with the write ups/ med errors I wrote up. I had to follow up on the stat labs that were to be drawn.... it IS part of my job. I go thru all of this physicians labs every morning and alert him to things that need immediate attention. A HGB of 8.6 is a little bit of a concern. You can feel anyway youd like, but I am in no way a crusader. I am a nurse. I am not out for anything, I could care less. I just dont want my patients having to go back to the hospital because of poor nursing care.

You can have your opinion, but I will be able to sleep at night knowing that I did right by the patients in the facitily in which I work.

You are very lucky that you have found a job so perfectly suited to your personality. Congratulations and best luck to you in the path you choose.

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Specializes in Trauma, Emergency.

three words. B. O. N. that is NOT okay. and about snitches get stitches...anybody who needs to give stitches to a snitch needs to re-evaluate their own snitch-able behavior. if you don't want to get busted, don't to bad things. deurrr.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
You are very lucky that you have found a job so perfectly suited to your personality. Congratulations and best luck to you in the path you choose.

The OP is the MDS coordinator. It isn't always peaches and cream. She found a discrepancy, she has tracked an unsafe pattern, and is taking steps to protect the patients in her facility.

Wouldn't you do the same?

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I wouldn't assume the facility has not taken the approipriate steps, before speaking to the BON, speak to the administration/DON and ask if any action has been taken, they may not reveal what steps have been taken, but can reveal if steps have been taken.

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Having worked in facilites with nurses like the OP has described, and having been absolutely powerless myself as a floor nurse to do anything to get administration to correct the situation, I will say that I am grateful that the OP has the courage to even consider following through on this.

To the OP I will say, please be careful about how you do this. At this point, now that the facility is aware of the problem and hasn't acted on it, if you report it further, it will come down hard on them, and they will find you and make your life miserable. So please make sure that you are protected.

Talk to an attorney, talk to someone knowledgeable, I wish I could give you a suggestion, all I can say is that the best person probably isn't us, here on this forum.

It's true that snitches get stitches. Doesn't mean you shouldn't tell the truth, just make sure it doesn't destroy you in the process.

I wish you the very best of luck with this.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I don't know the whole story. I don't work at that facility. Mistakes are rarely the result of one persons' error. I don't know what reprimands the offending nurse has had. I don't know if they were written up. I don't know, and the OP doesn't know if the "bad" nurse has already been reported to the BON. I don't know who took off the order to DC. I don't know who did the 24 hr check. I don't know ANYTHING except what the OP has posted. Decidedly one-sided.

Would I look the other way? No.

Would you supercede all chain of command and report a fellow nurse to fulfill a personal need for justice?

At the very least talk to the nurse involved before you decide to jeopardize their future.

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To report him to the BON you will NOT be anonymous. Everybody from your facility will know that YOU are the one that did the report. The administration and DON should take "measures" for this nurse. What he did is not acceptable. Certainly, this is not one mistake, it's a "premeditate" "mistake - he signed on the MAR and not given the procrit. Premeditated. Was he informed, or did he know about the other d/c med???

I will not accept this kind of behavior if he would be my colleague. I may not report him to the BON, but I will have a conversation with him and and I will be very "frank" with him. He needs to have consenquence, otherwise he will continue sneaking around

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